Norm Dicks' Statement on Passage of Budget Agreement, H.R.1473
April 14th, 2011
WASHINGTON- U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, ranking Democratic Member of the House Appropriations Committee, delivered the following statement during debate today on H.R. 1473, the agreement reached to fund the government through the remainder of the current fiscal year:
“It would have been irresponsible and unnecessary for us to allow our partisan differences to result in the chaos of a government shutdown. I said repeatedly that it would be the worst possible outcome, especially at a time when we are at war and when our economy is still fragile.
“But at the eleventh hour, an agreement was reached last week, and as a result, families had their mortgage applications approved on time; small business loans were not delayed; people could visit our national parks and museums as they had planned and hundreds of thousands of Americans got their paychecks on time – including our brave men and women in uniform.
“The defense title of the bill is $17 billion below the President’s request but it is $5 billion above last year’s enacted level. This bill fully funds personnel requirements, including training and health care, and DOD’s expressed contingency needs.
“As with any compromise, the path to H.R. 1473 required all sides to sacrifice on issues important to them. There are many funding decisions reflected in this bill that are not to my liking such as cuts to High Speed Rail, Workforce Investment Act job training, literacy programs and FEMA State and Local Grants. These cuts are certainly painful, but I am satisfied that critical investments have been preserved.
“I am pleased that the bill that is now before us maintains current levels of Head Start enrollment, including the increased spots for newborn-to-2 year- olds. It maintains the Pell Grant maximum award for college students. It also largely preserves Community Services Block grants which address the education, health, nutrition, housing and employment needs of the poor and elderly in communities around the nation.
“The important thing is that the agreement we considered today was considerably better than the draconian and economically-harmful version – H.R. 1 – that the House Republicans pushed through the House earlier in the year.”
Below is a comparison of the GOP Budget (H.R.1) and
the Budget Agreement (H.R.1473) voted on today:
LEGISLATIVE RIDERS
|
Riders in GOP BUDGET (H.R.1) |
Riders Included in Budget Agreement (H.R. 1473) |
|
Attempt to defund Planned Parenthood.
Attempt to bar EPA from regulating greenhouse gasses through the Clean Air Act and from issuing certain Clean Water Act regulations.
Attempt to bar local D.C. funds for Needle Exchange Programs.
Attempt to defund Wall Street Reform law.
Attempt to defund Affordable Care Act.
Attempt to bar the Department of Education from implementing rules protecting students at for-profit colleges.
Attempt to eliminate Title X Women’s health funding.
Attempt to restore “Mexico City” policy – the “Global Gag Rule.”
Attempt to defund the United Nations Population Fund.
Attempt to bar needle exchange programs.
Attempt to bar FCC from implementing net neutrality rules.
Attempt to eliminate the Presidential Election Campaign Fund.
Attempt to defund NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Attempt to consider nuclear storage at Yucca Mountain. |
Includes D.C. abortion ban for five months.
Includes D.C. voucher bill, HR 470
Bars regulators from using the ESA to protect wolves in Idaho, Montana and portions of Oregon, Washington and Utah.
Restricts the transfer of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay.
Restricts the Interior Secretary from implementing process of designating public lands as “wild lands.”
Includes compromise language on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Service.
Includes compromise language on NASA’s work with China, allowing NASA to work with China in multilateral settings but prohibits bilateral work.
Includes four studies on the Affordable Care Act and an independent study of the Consumer Financial Protection Board.
Includes a compromise on the Department of Defense Joint Forces Command.
Includes language prohibiting funding to approve new catch share programs on the East Coast or Gulf of Mexico, but permits catch share program development activities.
Includes compromise language on the FEMA Firefighter grant program. |
KEY FUNDING LEVELS
|
PROGRAM |
GOP BUDGET (H.R.1) |
Budget Agreement (H.R.1473) |
|
Safety of Our Meat and Poultry
|
The Republican proposal would have dramatically reduced funds for the Food Safety and Inspection Service, which is responsible for the safety of meat and poultry, to 2008 level – $88 million below current levels and $107 million below the Administration's 2011 budget.
|
Food Safety and Inspection Service is funded at $1.0 billion; $10 million below the FY10 enacted level and $78 million above HR1.
|
|
IRS Taxpayer Enforcement and Services
|
At $1.1 billion below the President's budget request and $603 below the current CR level, the GOP budget would force the IRS to furlough as many as 5,000 employees at the height of tax season.
|
The IRS is funded at $12.1 billion; the same as the enacted level and $603 million above HR1. |
|
Head Start |
Would have cut $1.1 billion (14%) below the enacted level and more than $500 million below FY2008, and would have resulted in a massive loss of comprehensive early childhood services.
|
Head Start is funded at $7.6 billion; $340 million above the enacted level and $1.4 billion above HR1. |
|
Pell Grants |
The Republican budget would have froze funding for Pell Grants at last year's level, therefore requiring maximum grant amounts to be reduced by $845 per student.
|
The Maximum Pell Grant award is maintained at $5,550. |
|
Food Assistance for Women, Children and the Elderly |
Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) provides food assistance to particularly vulnerable low-income mothers, young children and the elderly. The Republican budget would have cut CSFP by $20 million below the enacted level.
|
CSFP is funded at $176 million; $5 million above the FY2010 enacted level and $25 million above HR1. |
|
Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) |
CNCS programs would have been completely eliminated, including funding for AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Foster Grandparents, VISTA, and others. The total cut to CNCS is $1.024 billion (89%) below the enacted level. |
CNCS is funded at 1.1 billion; $72 million below the enacted level and $952 million above HR1. |
|
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) |
Would have been cut by 1.2 billion below the President's FY11 request and $410 million below the enacted level, severely limiting critical weather forecasting, climate research and natural disaster warning systems. |
NOAA is funded at $4.6 billion; $140 million below the enacted level and $245 million above HR1. |
|
Community Services Block Grants (CSBG) |
Would have been cut by $305 million below the enacted level. |
Community Services Block grants are funded at $680 million; $20 million below the enacted level and $285 million above HR1. |
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